Militants Kill Pakistani Judge and Police Constable in Separate Attacks

A series of targeted attacks on security and judicial officials struck Pakistan on July 23, 2026. In the Mastung district of Balochistan, suspected militants ambushed a vehicle traveling from Quetta, killing District and Sessions Judge Abdul Hakeem Kakar and his security guard. Additional Sessions Judge Tariq Lashari and two others were injured in the assault at the Wali Khan crossing.

Simultaneously, unidentified assailants shot and killed a police constable in the Sarvekai region of Upper South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The officer died at the scene while traveling for official duties. These incidents follow a pattern of rising violence, including July 15 attacks by the banned Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen group in the Bannu and Lower Dir districts.

Asim Munir, the Army Chief of Pakistan, vowed to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate the "menace of terrorism and its abettors" from the country, accusing foreign-backed proxy groups of attempting to destabilize Balochistan. In response to the violence and a campaign by the Baloch Liberation Army targeting mineral shipments, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced new security measures and established a Frontier Corps West headquarters to protect strategic investment corridors. Military forces have since launched Operation Shaban, which officials claim has killed 129 rebels since July 5.